Lolo Jones, Lauryn Williams on US Bobsled Team

Lolo Jones is a step closer to the Sochi Games, and Lauryn Williams might not have raced in her final Olympics after all.

Jones and Williams are best known for their track accomplishments, Jones as one of the world’s elite hurdlers and Williams as an NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist sprinter.

They were among nine women chosen Saturday for the U.S. bobsled national team, putting them squarely into the mix for spots in Sochi in February.

U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation CEO Darrin Steele called the team “the fastest and most prepared group of athletes we’ve ever seen.”

“It was difficult to narrow the women’s push field to six and it will be even more challenging to select the top three for the Olympic team in a few months,” Steele said in a statement shortly after Saturday’s announcement was made in Park City, Utah. “The hard work and dedication has paid off and I couldn’t be more proud of all these athletes.”

Jones is on the women’s national team for the second straight season after establishing herself quickly a year ago on the World Cup circuit. Williams is a rookie who was recruited by Jones, and the former Miami Hurricanes star signed on following her retirement from track not long after helping the U.S. win the 400-meter relay gold medal at the London Olympics.Jones finished fourth in the 100 hurdles at the London Games and four years earlier in Beijing was in position to win gold when she hit the ninth of 10 hurdles and wound up seventh.

“Last year, I was just soaking everything in. It was an adventure, it was fun, it was nothing really on the line for me,” Jones said. “It was just kind of an escape and there were no expectations. So now coming into my second year, they expect me to be more knowledgeable and more of a leader.”

Williams touched a bobsled for the first time in July. A week later, she placed third in the national push championships. What wasn’t even fathomable — a sprinter who has spent much of the last 15 years in Miami getting into a winter sport and qualifying for the Olympics almost on a whim — now seems more than a little bit possible.

“I know this is the right place for me right now,” Williams said. “I’ve learned so much in the two months already. And do I want to make it all the way to the end? Certainly.”